An extended weekend coming off essentially the most full efficiency in Justin Fields’ three seasons gave the Chicago Bears quarterback a possibility to mirror.
The passing recreation within the final two video games has appeared, effectively, like a full-fledged assault and that’s not one thing we’ve seen with any regularity in these components. Whether Fields mirrored or not, he didn’t have something revelatory to share about what these at Halas Hall should hope is a breakthrough.
“I think I’m just focused on continuing to get better each and every day,” Fields mentioned. “The offense, as a whole, we’ve gotten better each and every week. Our main goal is to just do that.”
It’s certainly for one of the best Fields’ full consideration is targeted on the Minnesota Vikings now that he’s six days faraway from finishing 15 of 29 passes for 282 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 40-20 blowout of the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field. He gained one other 57 yards dashing on 11 carries in a victory that breathed life right into a group that had stumbled to an 0-4 begin and misplaced its earlier 14 video games courting again to final yr.
“Not really a sense of relief because we knew that we could do it the whole time,” Fields mentioned of the win. “I think at this point, it’s now just keeping it going.”
The present problem is for the Bears to win consecutive video games for the primary time since Weeks 16-17 of the 2021 season, one thing that may be completed in the event that they snap a 10-game dropping streak in opposition to NFC North foes by prevailing Sunday at Soldier Field in opposition to the Vikings (1-4).
Fields has gained consecutive begins as soon as beforehand again in his rookie season when the Bears defeated the Detroit Lions and Las Vegas Raiders in October 2021. Those had been the second and third begins of his profession and it’s been a curler coaster since.
He’s appeared like a totally totally different quarterback previously two video games — vastly totally different from 2022, totally different from even the primary three weeks of this season. Fields has accomplished 43 of 64 passes for 617 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception combining the win at Washington with the house loss to the Denver Broncos the week prior.
The numbers leap off the web page compared to the remainder of his Bears profession. He totaled 600 passing yards in his closing 4 begins of the 2022 season. He handed for 17 touchdowns all of final season. The Bears’ passing quantity was so low a yr in the past it appeared like a throwback to the type of offense that was en vogue when disco was scorching.
It’s outstanding contemplating three weeks in the past, Fields was recounting the explanation why he was enjoying “robotic” after which he went out and mustered solely 99 yards passing in a depressing loss at Kansas City. Lately, it’s been massive performs galore with 12 passing performs that gained 20 or extra yards within the earlier two video games. It’s commonplace for that to be two months’ value of massive passing performs for this offense.
“I feel like I am just playing ball,” Fields mentioned. “The main thing is just being locked in through the fourth quarter. Personally, I think I can be better in the second half with staying locked in, keeping all the guys locked in and putting up the same amount of points. That’s our next step as an offense, keeping our foot on the gas.”
The Bears haven’t swapped out playbooks. It’s not a brand new set of play calls coming from offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. What the Bears have stumbled onto now, 30 begins into Fields’ profession, is a steadiness through which he could be an efficient pocket passer, a prerequisite for high-level play on the place, and be himself as an athletic risk who challenges defenses. It was the concern of Fields taking off and operating that led the Commanders to repeatedly load the field with an eighth defender, leaving DJ Moore in single protection, a matchup Fields exploited time and again for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
In the final two video games, Fields has been extra decisive as a thrower from the pocket. That’s led to the passing recreation working in rhythm. He’s been extra aggressive as effectively, difficult tight-window throws he appeared much less inclined to throw into beforehand. He’s not seeking to escape the pocket. Add all of it up and he’s seeing the sector higher.
“When you look at the growth that he has had over this year, it’s been really good,” coach Matt Eberflus mentioned. “The steps he has taken the final couple of weeks has been the place all of us need it to go. He’s performed that. We’ve simply bought to maintain constructing on that. Just being the constant performer that he’s.
“He’s always going to work hard in practice. He’s always going to work his tail off to get that done. Putting himself in position and us as coaches putting him in position to succeed is paramount. He has done a good job with that the last couple weeks.”
The Bears are nonetheless leaning into Fields’ operating means. Getsy has been sprinkling in designed runs — there was a G-T counter with Fields following behind pulling proper deal with Darnell Wright at Washington — and after a protracted search the Bears have arrived at a contented steadiness that has elevated the passing recreation.
“Last week, like I said, all the stars aligned,” mentioned Moore, who turned the primary Bears’ huge receiver to win NFC offensive participant of the week honors since Marcus Robinson in Week 15 of the 1999 season. “Looking (to) this week, we want the sun to align with us out there.”
Two video games are a really small pattern measurement, not the sort to attract conclusions from. If issues are nonetheless trending on this route subsequent month, Getsy will certain look prophetic for the second final month when he mentioned they had been constructing one thing particular.
Remember, Mitch Trubisky put collectively consecutive video games in 2018 when he handed for 670 yards with 9 touchdowns, just one choose and ran for one more 100 yards. No, that wasn’t Trubisky turning the nook. That’s to not say Fields can’t succeed the place those that got here earlier than him veered off the trail.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com